Explosive volcanism

The metropolitan area of Napoli (∼3 M inhabitants) in southern Italy is located in between two explosive active volcanoes: Somma-Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei. Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) from these volcanoes may reach the city center, as witnessed by the Late Quaternary stratigraphic record. Here we compute a novel multivolcano Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Assessment of PDCs, in the next 50 years, by combining the probability of PDC invasion from each volcano (assuming that they erupt independently) over the city of Napoli and its surroundings. We model PDC invasion with the energy cone model accounting for flows of very different (but realistic) mobility and use the Bayesian Event Tree for Volcanic Hazard to incorporate other volcano-specific information such as the probability of eruption or the spatial variability in vent opening probability. Worthy of note, the method provides a complete description of Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Assessment, that is, it yields percentile maps displaying the epistemic uncertainty associated with our best (aleatory) hazard estimation. Since the probability density functions of the model parameters of the energy cone are unknown, we propose an ensemble of different hazard assessments based on different assumptions on such probability density functions. The ensemble merges two plausible distributions for the collapse height, reflecting a source of epistemic (specifically, parametric) uncertainty. We also apply a novel quantification for a spatially varying epistemic uncertainty associated to PDC simulations.

Keywords: explosive basaltic volcanism Olot NE Spain SEM description card eruptive mechanisms strombolian phreatomagmatic An ephemeral (and proximal) outcrop at the quaternary basaltic Puig de la Garrinada cinder volcano was studied in order to decipher eruptive mechanism variations in the course of a single eruption. Once the volcanostratigraphy was established (and recorded by photographs), a very detailed sampling of underlying lava flows, bombs and a large number of fine-sized lapilli and ash beds was carried out. An ad hoc description card was elaborated for study under stereo microscope in order to identify the different types of materials that form the volcanic cone. Ten material types were recognised: sedimentary accidental clasts, massive lava accidental clasts, bombs, xenoliths, xenocrysts and phenocrysts, oxidised scoria, scoria with oxidised film, fluidal pyroclasts, non-fluidal pyroclasts, and coatings. Subsequent studies under SEM + EDS and basic chemical characterization of the samples (whole rock XRF for major and trace elements) and EMPA were conducted. All these studies make possible the reconstruction of the eruptive history of the La Garrinada volcano, which shows a transition from initial strombolian activity to gradually incorporated phreatomagmatic activity. This permits the calculation of magma eruption rates, magma column oscillations and aquifer interactions with magma column. Since our general conclusions agree well with the discrimination of eruptive episodes obtained from the stereo microscope description card, macroscopic volcanostratigraphy and chemical results, it is proposed that a similar study protocol (quick volcanostratigraphy logging, photographic record, detailed sampling, description following this card) might be useful in the reconstruction of eruptive activity of other cinder cones in the Garrotxa region and elsewhere, and therefore can provide a good and quick methodological tool, especially when rapid field description and sampling is required (ephemeral outcrops, risky sampling during active eruptive episodes, etc.). Moreover, the conducted sampling allows for subsequent studies on the same set of pyroclasts.

Eruption source parameters (ESP) characterizing volcanic eruption plumes are crucial inputs for atmospheric tephra dispersal models, used for hazard assessment and risk mitigation. We present FPLUME-1.0, a steady-state 1-D (one-dimensional) cross-section-averaged eruption column model based on the buoyant plume theory (BPT). The model accounts for plume bending by wind, entrainment of ambient moisture, effects of water phase changes, particle fallout and re-entrainment, a new parameterization for the air entrain- ment coefficients and a model for wet aggregation of ash par- ticles in the presence of liquid water or ice. In the occurrence of wet aggregation, the model predicts an effective grain size distribution depleted in fines with respect to that erupted at the vent. Given a wind profile, the model can be used to deter- mine the column height from the eruption mass flow rate or vice versa. The ultimate goal is to improve ash cloud disper- sal forecasts by better constraining the ESP (column height, eruption rate and vertical distribution of mass) and the effec- tive particle grain size distribution resulting from eventual wet aggregation within the plume. As test cases we apply the model to the eruptive phase-B of the 4 April 1982 El Chichón volcano eruption (México) and the 6 May 2010 Eyjafjalla- jökull eruption phase (Iceland). The modular structure of the code facilitates the implementation in the future code ver- sions of more quantitative ash aggregation parameterization as further observations and experiment data will be available for better constraining ash aggregation processes.

This article identifies the Pucarilla–Cerro Tipillas Volcanic Complex and its major eruptive source, the Luingo caldera (26° 10′S–66° 40′W). Detailed geological mapping, stratigraphic sections, facies analysis and correlations, including the identification of typical caldera components, allow us to infer the position of a collapse caldera, elongated at N65° and with a diameter of 19 km × 13 km, which is responsible for an eruption of 135 km3 (DRE) of magma. The high-crystal contents of the associated ignimbrites, combined with its tectonic setting, indicate that regional and local tectonic structures played a crucial role in the formation of the caldera.The Luingo caldera is located on the south-eastern border of the Puna, and is the south-easternmost recognised caldera of the Altiplano–Puna plateau. The age of the caldera and its products is 12.1 to 13.5 Ma. Based on its location near the Cerro Galán Complex (2 to 6.5 Ma), we can imply that volcanism existed in the area for about 10 Ma. The caldera morphology and product distribution account for a middle Miocene paleao-topography similar to the present one.

Vents and deposits attributed to explosive volcanism occur within numerous impact craters on both the Moon and Mercury. Given the similarities between the two bodies it is probable that similar processes control this spatial association on both. However, the precise morphology and localization of the activity differs on the two bodies, indicating that the nature of structures beneath impact craters and/or volcanic activity may also be different. To explore this, we analyze sites of explosive volcanism within complex impact craters on the Moon and Mercury, comparing the scale and localization of volcanic activity and evidence for post-formation modification of the host crater. We show that the scale of vents and deposits is consistently greater on Mercury than on the Moon, indicating greater eruption energy, powered by a higher concentration of volatiles. Additionally, while the floors of lunar craters hosting explosive volcanism are commonly fractured, those on Mercury are not. The most probable explanation for these differences is that the state of regional compression acting on Mercury's crust through most of the planet's history results in deeper magma storage beneath craters on Mercury than on the Moon. The probable role of the regional stress regime in dictating the depth of intrusion on Mercury suggests that it may also play a role in the depth of sub-crater intrusion on the Moon and on other planetary bodies. Examples on the Moon (and also on Mars) commonly occur at locations where flexural extension may facilitate shallower intrusion than would be driven by the buoyancy of the magma alone.

The identification of widespread pyroclastic vents and deposits on Mercury has important implications for the planet's bulk volatile content and thermal evolution. However, the significance of pyroclastic volcanism for Mercury depends on the mechanisms by which the eruptions occurred. Using images acquired by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft, we have identified 150 sites where endogenic pits are surrounded by a relatively bright and red diffuse-edged spectral anomaly, a configuration previously used to identify sites of explosive volcanism. We find that these sites cluster at the margins of impact basins and along regional tectonic structural trends. Locally, pits and deposits are usually associated with zones of weakness within impact craters and/or with the surface expressions of individual thrust faults. Additionally, we use images and stereo-derived topographic data to show that pyroclastic deposits are dispersed up to 130 km from their source vent and commonly have either no relief or low circumpit relief within a wider, thinner deposit. These eruptions were therefore likely driven by a relatively high concentration of volatiles, consistent with volatile concentration in a shallow magma chamber prior to eruption. The colocation of sites of explosive volcanism with near-surface faults and crater-related fractures is likely a result of such structures acting as conduits for volatile and/or magma release from shallow reservoirs, with volatile overpressure in these reservoirs a key trigger for eruption in at least some cases. Our findings suggest that widespread, long-lived explosive volcanism on Mercury has been facilitated by the interplay between impact cratering, tectonic structures, and magmatic fractionation.

The duration and timing of volcanic activity on Mercury are key indicators of the thermal evolution of the planet and provide a valuable comparative example for other terrestrial bodies. The majority of effusive volcanism on Mercury appears to have occurred early in the planet's geological history (~4.1–3.55 Ga), but there is also evidence for explosive volcanism. Here we present evidence that explosive volcanism occurred from at least 3.9 Ga until less than a billion years ago and so was substantially more long-lived than large-scale lava plains formation. This indicates that thermal conditions within Mercury have allowed partial melting of silicates through the majority of its geological history and that the overall duration of volcanism on Mercury is similar to that of the Moon despite the different physical structure, geological history, and composition of the two bodies.

Sacrofano eruptive center, in the eastern part of the Sabatini volcanic complex, was active between 0.5 and 0.09 m.y. ago. The Baccano geothermal area lies at the western edge of Sacrofano caldera. Sedimentary substrata that form the reservoir for this geothermal system were exposed at the surface at the beginning of volcanic activity. The volcanic history of the Sacrofano center can be divided into three stages: (1) Construction of the Sacrofano pyroclastic edifice by predominantly Strombolian activity. (2) Collapse of Sacrofano caldera following eruption of pyroclastic flows. (3) Development of the Baccano explosive center at the western edge of Sacrofano caldera and collapse of Baccano caldera. Hydrovolcanic activity that began at the end of the first stage of Sacrofano can be explained by a drop in the magma level in the conduit that relieved hydrostatic pressure in the aquifer. As intense fracturing associated with caldera collapse penetrated the carbonate reservoir, the entrapped water flowed towards the conduit to balance the pressure change. The close link between tectonism and volcanism in the Sacrofano center suggests that eruptions there may have been triggered by gravity faults related to regional tectonics.

Current volcanic reconstructions based on ice core analysis have significantly improved over the past few decades by incorporating multiple-core analyses with a high temporal resolution from different parts of the polar regions into a composite common volcanic eruption record. Regional patterns of volcanic deposition are based on composite records, built from cores taken at both poles. However, in many cases only a single record at a given site is used for these reconstructions. This assumes that transport and regional meteorological patterns are the only source of the dispersion of the volcanic products. Here we evaluate the local-scale variability of a sulfate profile in a low-accumulation site (Dome C, Antarctica), in order to assess the representativeness of one core for such a reconstruction. We evaluate the variability with depth, statistical occurrence, and sulfate flux deposition variability of volcanic eruptions detected in five ice cores, drilled 1 m apart from each other. Local-scale variability, essentially attributed to snow drift and surface roughness at Dome C, can lead to a non-exhaustive record of volcanic events when a single core is used as the site reference, with a bulk probability of 30 % of missing volcanic events and close to 65 % uncertainty on one volcanic flux measurement (based on the standard deviation obtained from a five-core comparison). Averaging n records reduces the uncertainty of the deposited flux mean significantly (by a factor 1∕ √ n); in the case of five cores, the uncertainty of the mean flux can therefore be reduced to 29 %.

MACDONALD seamount is an active volcanic centre located at 29°98′ S, 140°25′ W in the south-central Pacific. Since its discovery1 in 1968, a number of expeditions have surveyed and dredged rocks from the seamount. During a Scripps Institution of Oceanography expedition in October 1987, the first direct observation of volcanic activity at Macdonald was made when a small eruption occurred spewing forth scoriaceous basaltic rocks which briefly floated to the sea surface. The rocks were accompanied by huge bubbles of volcanic gas that created large sea surface slicks (H. Craig, personal communication). Similar activity at Macdonald was observed by a joint French-German team in January 1989 using the submersible Cyana2. Here we look at the radio-geochemical features of the lone rock recovered from the October 1987 eruption. We present analyses of U-series nuclides from the first observed eruption of Macdonald (also known as Tamarii) seamount with interpretations focusing on the timescales of mag-matic events and the implications of uranium-series data for magma degassing. This highly gas-charged magma lost all of its volatile 210Po upon eruption. Based on this, estimates of the fluxes of other volatile elements to sea water, which may contribute significantly to their oceanic budget, are calculated. High (230Th/232Th) and 87Sr/86Sr ratios, common signatures of altered crust, suggest that the explosive nature of the Macdonald volcan-ism results partly from the sealing of magma conduits by seawater circulation.

EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Tephrology of the 1932 eruption of the Quizapú volcano in the region of Laguna Llancanelo, Payenia (Mendoza, Argentina)
Tephrology is a broad term that comprises all the aspects related to “tephra” studies (stratigraphy, chronology, petrology, sedimentology, chemistry, Froggat and Lowe, 1990; Lowe and Hunt, 2001) (Fig. 1). In Argentina, tephrological studies have significantly increased recently as a result of the increment in the Southern Andes volcanic activity affecting the country in the last two decades (E.g.: Corbella et al., 1991a,b; Stern, 1991; Mazzoni and Destéfano, 1992; Nillni et al., 1992; Gonzalez Ferrán, 1993; Naranjo et al., 1993; Scasso et al., 1994; Nillni and Bischene, 1995; Haberle and Lumley, 1998; Villarosa et al., 2002; Kilian et al., 2003; Naranjo and Stern, 2004; Orihashi et al., 2004; Stern, 2004; Scasso and Carey, 2005; Daga et al., 2008; Watt et al., 2009; Martin et al., 2009; Leonard et al., 2009; Rovere et al., 2009, 2011; Wilson et al., 2009, 2012). The eruption of Quizapú volcano (Volcanic Complex Azul-Descabezado Grande, Province of Talca, Chile, 36,67°S-70,77°W, maximum height of 3788 m a.s.l.), that occurred on April 10, 1932, represented one of the largest eruptions worldwide in the 20th Century. It affected extensive regions of Argentina as well as many coastal areas of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean as a result of the prevailing westerly winds, and specifically impacted dramatically in regions located nearby the source volcano (Department of Malargüe, Province of Mendoza, west-central Argentina).  The wide spreading of the resulting tephras and its easy reconnaissance in the field provides a great opportunity for detailed studies about the eruption and its products. Results on the eruptive aspects and tephras dispersion and deposition from this eruption were published by some authors (Lunkenheimer, 1932; Kittl, 1933; Walker, 1981, Hildreth and Drake, 1992, González Ferrán, 1993; Ruprecht and Bachmann, 2010; Ruprecht et al., 2012). In this contribution the sedimentological, mineralogical and chemical characteristics of the tephra deposits occurring at the Llancanelo Lake and surroundings, located 140 km east (downwind) of the Quizapú volcano, are studied based on grain-size, petrographic and electron microscope analysis (SEM) as well as semiquantitative chemical determinations by Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). The obtained results, when compared with the results of analyses performed by other authors in tephras from the 1932 eruption of the Quizapú volcano, allow attributing the studied tephra layer to this eruption. On these bases, diverse aspects related to the depositional and post-depositional aspects of the tephras are herein discussed, as well as some environmental changes produced by the eruption. On the other hand, this paper contributes to a systematic and comparative classification of volcanic hazard in health and society that serves as base-studies for better understanding other more recent Southern Andes eruptive events that affected Argentina (Hudson, Copahue, Chaitén, Llaima, Peteroa and Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanoes). The eruption of Quizapú volcano in 1932 was one of the most important events among a long history of activity of this volcanic complex (Smithsonian Institution, 2012). It had a plinian character and threw into the atmosphere enormous amounts of tephras varying between 5 and 30 km3 according to different authors (Kittl, 1933; González Ferrán, 1993; Hildreth and Drake, 1992; Ruprecht and Bachmann, 2010), producing a dramatic impact in society, agriculture and local economies in the downwind neighboring affected regions (Abraham and Prieto, 1993; González Ferrán, 1993). The tephra deposits were very uniform in thickness with a notable decreasing grain-size tendency with distance from the source volcano, ranging from 6 cm in neighboring areas and reaching silt and clay sizes around 100 km east (Kittl, 1933; Hildreth and Drake, 1992). The horizon of tephras was recognized as a regional level in a number of natural outcrops pits and excavations, as well as in sediment cores recovered from short drillings (Fig. 3). The tephra level was affected by compaction and post-depositional transformations after 80 years of burying and exposure to weathering and pedogenetic processes, although most of the original characteristics are very well preserved. The sedimentary sequence in which the tephra level is included was recognized regionally by surface and subsurface surveys based on geoelectrical methods and short drillings (Violante et al., 2010; Osella et al., 2010, 2011; de la Vega et al., 2012). The sequence is composed of light brown sandy-silty sediments of lacustrine and eolian origin with high volcaniclastic content and interbedding of buried soils and evaporites (Rovere et al., 2010a,b; D´Ambrosio et al., 2011).



Resumen: El Volcán Quizapú es parte del Complejo Volcánico Cerro Azul-Descabezado Grande, ubicado en la Provincia de Talca, Chile (36,67°S - 70,77°O, altura máxima: 3788 m s.n.m.). La erupción del 10 de abril de 1932 fue uno de los mayores eventos volcánicos del siglo XX. Tuvo un carácter pliniano y arrojó un volumen de tefras entre 5 y 30 km3 (según diferentes autores), que por efecto de los vientos dominantes del oeste cubrieron gran parte de la región central de Argentina, llegando a la costa atlántica y afectando a otros países del este de Sudamérica. Los efectos climáticos y el impacto en las regiones más proximales del sur de Mendoza, particularmente en el Departamento de Malargüe, fueron muy significativos. El estudio de los eyectos constituye un campo de exploración de gran valor no solamente para conocer las características, alcances y efectos de esa erupción sino también para evaluar aspectos relacionados con la tefrología. En esta contribución se analiza un depósito de tefras en los alrededores de la Laguna Llancanelo, en las cercanías de Malargüe, una de las áreas más afectadas por la erupción. Las determinaciones sedimentológicas, mineralógicas y texturales (petrografía, microscopía electrónica y determinaciones químicas semicuantitativas con EDS) permitieron caracterizar la composición granulométrica, petrográfica y química semicuantitativa de las tefras. Estas características son afines a las de los materiales piroclásticos eyectados por la erupción del volcán Quizapú de 1932 estudiados por otros autores, por lo que se asignan a dicho evento volcánico. Las tefras depositadas en la zona de estudio son de tamaño arena muy fina a mediana con significativa cantidad de fracciones menores a 10 µm. Las trizas son pumíceas, fibrosas, con diferentes conformaciones morfológicas y abundante vesicularidad que favorece el entrampamiento de partículas menores en las vesículas de las mayores. La composición química revela un alto contenido de sílice que alcanza hasta cerca del 70% de los componentes, con alrededor de un 15% de Al y cantidades subordinadas de K, Na, Ca, Zn, Mg, Cu, Fe y Ti. Es notorio el alto contenido de K, asociado a un aumento relativo por desilicación de la tefra con el transcurso del tiempo. También son importantes los contenidos de Fe y Cu, en este último caso posiblemente asociado a transformaciones post-depositacionales por meteorización.

Volcanic ash transport and dispersal models typically describe particle motion via a turbulent velocity field. Particles are advected inside this field from the moment they leave the vent of the volcano until they deposit on the ground. Several techniques exist to simulate particles in an advection field such as finite difference Eulerian, Lagrangian-puff or pure Lagrangian techniques. In this paper, we present a new flexible simulation tool called TETRAS (TEphra TRAnsport Simulator) based on a hybrid Eulerian–La-grangian model. This scheme offers the advantages of being numerically stable with no numerical diffusion and easily parallelizable. It also allows us to output particle atmospheric concentration or ground mass load at any given time. The model is validated using the advection–diffusion analytical equation. We also obtained a good agreement with field observations of the tephra deposit associated with the 2450 BP Pululagua (Ecuador) and the 1996 Ruapehu (New Zealand) eruptions. As this kind of model can lead to computationally intensive simulations, a parallelization on a distributed memory architecture was developed. A related performance model, taking into account load imbalance, is proposed and its accuracy tested.